The authors agree in pointing to a Greek origin for this surname. G. Rohlfs classifies it as a surname of Greek-Byzantine origin and links it to the Greek surname Kakakis, interpreting it as a reflection of the Byzantine presence in southern Italy. Rohlfs documents its presence in present-day Basilicata —in localities such as Maratea and Sapri— and also records it in the Calabrian and Sicilian dialects, as well as in Naples.

E. Rossoni agrees on the connection with the Greek surname Kakakis and notes areas of presence in Rome and Tivoli, with a more extensive cluster in Campania: Naples, Massa Lubrense, Castellammare di Stabia and various localities of that province. He also documents it in Bari, Taranto, Palermo, the island of Lipari and Messina.

V. Blunda proposes a more precise etymology: it derives from the Greek cacàces, "a bit bad", a diminutive formed on the prefix kako-, "bad", with a suffix of affective value that softens the negative charge of the term. According to Blunda, the surname functioned originally as a nickname applied to the ancestor for some trait of character, and later became a family surname.